The sun hung high over the Domus Flau, baking the arena sands. The excitement from the "Hidden" event had barely settled, leaving the air thick with adrenaline and the scent of ozone and dust. The scoreboard loomed large, showing Fairy Tail A and B sitting comfortably at the top, a sight that made the crowd buzz with a excitement.
"The team battles are just warming up!" Chapati Lola's voice boomed over the speakers. "We've seen strategy in the Hidden round, but now it's time for raw power! It's time for the Individual Battles!"
The giant lacrima screen shuffled names rapidly, a blur of letters that had the entire stadium holding its breath.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The names locked in.
LUCY HEARTFILIA (Fairy Tail A) vs. VEXEL (Raven Tail)
A hush fell over the Fairy Tail section.
"Raven Tail again," Natsu growled, smoke curling from his nostrils. "They better not try anything funny."
"Lucy can handle it," Erza said, though her hand rested on her sword hilt. "She has grown much stronger."
In the stands, Blake Corvus leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.
"Vexel," Blake muttered. "I've heard rumors. He's a nasty piece of work. They call him the 'Nerve-Wrecker'."
"Nerve-Wrecker?" Cana frowned, holding a fresh tankard. "Sounds pleasant."
"He uses a type of bio-link magic," Blake explained, his eyes sharp. "He doesn't just attack the body; he attacks the nervous system. But Lucy... Lucy isn't the same girl who relied solely on her spirits anymore."
Down in the arena, Lucy walked out. She wore her standard outfit, her hair tied in side ponytails, but her expression was different. Gone was the hesitation of previous years. Her stride was confident, her chin held high.
From the opposite tunnel, Vexel emerged.
He was a lanky, hunched figure wrapped in tattered purple bandages. Only his eyes were visible—yellow, bloodshot, and manic. He twitched as he walked, his fingers drumming against his thighs.
"Hehehe," Vexel giggled, his voice scratching like sandpaper. "A pretty fairy. I wonder what color your screams are?"
"You won't find out," Lucy said calmly, reaching for her key ring.
"BEGIN!" the gong sounded.
Vexel moved instantly. He didn't cast a projectile; he simply pointed a crooked finger at Lucy.
"Dark Link: Synapse Snap!"
A web of purple, sickly energy shot from his fingertips, moving erratically through the air like seeking vipers.
"Open, Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"
Lucy summoned the pink-haired maid in a flash of gold light.
"Punishment, Princess?" Virgo asked, catching the purple webs with her bare hands.
"No! Block him!" Lucy commanded.
Virgo spun, creating a hole in the ground to dodge, but the purple webs pulsed. When they touched Virgo's skin, the spirit gasped, her body seizing up.
"It... it disrupts movement..." Virgo stuttered, falling to one knee.
"My magic connects my nerves to yours!" Vexel cackled, dancing around. "If I twitch, you spasm! And I'm very twitchy!"
He jerked his hand back. Virgo screamed as an invisible shockwave racked her body.
"Close Gate!" Lucy forced the gate shut, sending Virgo back to safety before more damage could be done.
"All alone now!" Vexel lunged, firing more nerve-webs.
"I am never alone," Lucy stated.
She took a deep breath. She reached for a golden key, but she didn't just summon. She focused her magic power, the result of a year of grueling training where she unlocked the potential of her own magic container.
"Star Dress: Taurus Form!"
A brilliant golden light engulfed her. When it faded, Lucy's appearance had changed. She wore a revealing cow-print bikini top with flared pants and sleeves, her hair styled in two buns. But more importantly, her physical strength had skyrocketed.
She held a whip that crackled with energy.
Vexel fired his webs.
"Earth Wave!" Lucy slammed her whip into the ground.
BOOM.
The sheer physical force shattered the arena floor. Massive chunks of stone flew up, intercepting the purple webs.
"What?" Vexel gasped. "A summoner with physical strength?"
"I'm not done!" Lucy shouted.
She leaped through the dust cloud, moving faster than Vexel expected. She swung the whip, catching Vexel around the waist.
"Lucy Punch!"
Channeling the strength of the Golden Bull, she hauled him in and delivered a right hook that sent shockwaves through the stadium.
Vexel went flying, skipping across the dirt like a stone on water.
"AMAZING!" Chapati screamed. "Lucy Heartfilia is fighting on the front lines!"
Vexel scrambled up, blood dripping from his lip. His eyes narrowed.
"You brat! Dark Link: Iron Maiden!"
He slammed his hands together. The purple energy expanded, turning into a massive, ghostly cage designed to crush her mind.
From the Raven Tail balcony, Ivan Dreyar smirked. "Crush her. Break her spirit."
He secretly channeled his own magic, aiming a subtle disruption spell at Lucy—the same tactic they had planned to use to drain her power.
In the stands, Blake's eyes flashed white.
"Oh no, you don't," Blake whispered.
He flared his Reiatsu—just a pinch. A focused needle of spiritual pressure shot across the arena, slamming into Ivan's magical projection invisible to the cameras.
Ivan gasped, clutching his chest as his spell shattered before it even left his balcony. He looked around wildly. "Who—?!"
Down on the field, Lucy felt a strange warmth, as if someone was watching her back.
"It's over," she declared.
She shifted her stance. The Taurus dress dissolved into light.
"Star Dress: Leo Form!"
She transformed again. Now she wore an elegant black ball gown with gold trim, her hair flowing freely. The magical pressure radiating from her was noble and intense.
"Regulus..."
Light gathered in her right palm. It wasn't just magic; it was the light of the Lion King, amplified by her own heart.
Vexel's cage descended.
"...LUCY KICK!"
It wasn't a simple kick. It was a projectile of condensed light shaped like a lion's claw.
She struck the center of the cage.
CRASH.
The dark magic shattered like glass. The light continued, slamming into Vexel.
"AHHHH!" Vexel shrieked as he was bathed in the holy light of Regulus. He was blown backward, smashing into the arena wall with enough force to leave a crater.
He slumped forward, unconscious.
"WINNER: LUCY HEARTFILIA!"
The stadium erupted.
"LUCY! LUCY! LUCY!"
Natsu was cheering so hard he fell over the railing. "SHE DID IT!"
Gray smirked. "Not bad, Lucy."
Lucy stood in the center of the arena, panting slightly, but unharmed. She looked up at the Fairy Tail balcony and flashed a V-sign.
"That's for the guild," she whispered.
---
The excitement of Lucy's victory set the tone for the afternoon.
The matches continued, each one raising the temperature of the crowd.
Match 2: Ren Akatsuki (Blue Pegasus) vs. Araña Webb (Mermaid Heel)
It was a battle of aerial combat vs. threads (a different type than Vexel). Ren, fueled by the presence of Sherry in the audience cheering for him, managed to pull off a desperate victory using his Aerial Phanton spell to navigate Araña's webs, knocking her out of bounds.
Match 3: Sho (New Dawn) vs. Orga Nanagear (Sabertooth)
This was the match Sabertooth needed to reclaim some dignity.
Warcry began chanting his Tear Magic, crying to empower himself.
Orga didn't wait.
"Lightning God's Bellow."
A beam of black lightning, thick as a tree trunk, vaporized Sho instantly. It was brutal, efficient, and terrifying.
"One shot!" Sting laughed from the bench. "That's how Sabertooth does it!"
The crowd was awed. Sabertooth had finally put points on the board (10 points), but the brutality left a cold feeling in the air compared to Lucy's heroic win.
---
The sun began to dip lower, casting long shadows across the Colosseum. The air grew cooler, but the tension was reaching a boiling point.
"AND NOW!" Chapati Lola stood up, sweat dripping down his forehead. "THE FINAL MATCH OF DAY ONE!"
The screens flashed.
LAXUS DREYAR (Fairy Tail B) vs. JURA NEEKIS (Lamia Scale)
The noise in the stadium died instantly.
It wasn't the silence of boredom. It was the silence of reverence.
Jura Neekis. One of the Ten Wizard Saints. The Iron Rock.
Laxus Dreyar. The Lightning Dragon Slayer.
"This is it," Blake said quietly, leaning forward. He covered Celeste's ears gently. "It's going to get loud."
"Go Daddy!" Arthur cheered, though he looked a little nervous seeing the giant Jura.
Laxus walked out. He wore his purple coat draped over his shoulders, his muscular frame looking relaxed. He didn't look arrogant. He looked focused.
Jura walked out from the other side, his bald head gleaming, his beard neatly trimmed. He bowed respectfully.
"Laxus-dono," Jura rumbled, his voice like grinding stones. "I have looked forward to testing myself against you."
"Jura," Laxus nodded, cracking his neck. Sparks of yellow lightning danced around him. "Wizard Saint, huh? Let's see if that title holds up against a Dragon."
"READY... FIGHT!"
BOOM.
There was no buildup. Both men exploded into motion instantly.
Laxus disappeared, turning into a bolt of lightning. He appeared behind Jura, delivering a kick that could decapitate a wyvern.
Jura didn't turn.
"Iron Rock Wall."
Pillars of rock shot up faster than the eye could follow, blocking the kick. The impact created a shockwave that blew the hats off the spectators in the front row.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"
Laxus fired point-blank. A massive torrent of electricity engulfed the rock formation.
The rock shattered, but Jura was gone.
He slid across the ground on a wave of earth.
"Rumblings of Mt. Fuji!"
The earth beneath Laxus erupted. Massive stone fists punched upward, sandwiching the Dragon Slayer.
"Is that it?!" Sting scoffed. "Caught already?"
ZRRRZT.
The stone fists exploded outward. Laxus hovered in the air, his body wreathed in electricity. But it wasn't just yellow lightning.
Traces of black Lightning flickered in his aura—a power he had begun to develop through his Ethernano compression.
"Fast," Jura admitted, stroking his beard. "And powerful."
"I'm just getting started," Laxus grinned.
For the next twenty minutes, the crowd witnessed a battle of catastrophic proportions.
Jura's defense was impenetrable. Every time Laxus struck, a shield of diamond-hard rock was there.
Laxus's offense was relentless. He moved so fast he was a blur, striking from every angle, chipping away at the Wizard Saint's defenses.
"Thunder Halberd!" Laxus threw a spear of lightning.
Jura caught it between two rock hands, crushing it.
"Rock Avalanche!" Jura sent a tsunami of boulders.
Laxus roared, his magic creating a repelling field that turned the rocks to dust.
"They are evenly matched," Erza whispered, her eyes wide. "Laxus is fighting a Wizard Saint on equal footing."
"He's holding back," Blake noted from the stands. "Both of them are. They're testing the waters."
At the 25-minute mark, the tone changed.
Laxus landed, panting slightly. His coat was shredded.
Jura stood opposite him panting, his clothes torn in a few places.
"Excellent," Jura said. "Truly excellent. But time grows short. Shall we elevate this?"
"Yeah," Laxus grinned, his canines flashing. "Let's finish it."
Laxus began to charge. The sky turned dark. Thunderclouds formed instantaneously over the arena.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art..."
Jura clasped his hands. The ground turned into liquid stone, rising up to form a colossal golem behind him.
"Supreme King Rock Golem!"
"...ROARING THUNDER!"
Laxus launched himself. He became a human lightning bolt, concentrating all his power into a single punch.
Jura's golem swung a fist the size of a house.
The two attacks collided in the center of the arena.
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The sound was beyond deafening. A dome of pure white energy expanded, consuming the arena floor. The magical barriers protecting the audience cracked and groaned under the pressure.
Blake stood up, flaring his own aura to shield his family from the shockwave. "Arthur, watch this! This is your dad's power!"
When the light faded, the arena was unrecognizable. It was a crater.
In the center, two figures stood amidst the rubble.
Laxus's fist was buried in the golem's chest.
The golem's hand was inches from crushing Laxus.
Both men were breathing heavily, bleeding, exhausted.
GONG! GONG! GONG!
"TIME UP!" the announcer shrieked. "THE MATCH ENDS IN A DRAW!"
Laxus pulled his fist back. He wiped blood from his mouth.
Jura dissolved the golem. He bowed deeply.
"A draw," Jura said, looking at the clock. "Though I believe if we had five more minutes... my bones might have broken first."
"Don't be modest," Laxus huffed, throwing his tattered coat over his shoulder. "That golem had me sweating. Next time, I'm taking the win."
"I look forward to it," Jura smiled.
The crowd didn't cheer immediately. They were too stunned.
Then, a slow clap started. Then another. Then a roar.
It wasn't the frantic cheering of fanboys. It was a standing ovation of respect.
"5 POINTS TO EACH TEAM FOR THE DRAW!"
The Aftermath
Night had fallen over Crocus.
The Fairy Tail members regrouped at the Honeybone Hotel bar. The mood was ecstatic.
"We are crushing it!" Natsu cheered, clinking mugs with Elfman. "Team A is in 1st place! Team B is tied for 3rd with Lamia Scale!"
"Sabertooth is in 5th," Gray laughed. "Did you see Sting's face? He looked like he swallowed a lemon."
"You were great today, Lucy," Natsu said, grinning at her.
"Thanks," Lucy smiled, looking at her keys. "I finally feel like I belong in the arena."
Blake sat at a large table with his family. Laxus was there too, holding an ice pack to his ribs while Arthur climbed on him.
"You were so cool, Dad" Arthur asked, poking the bruise.
"I was right," Laxus grimaced. "But, Jura is tough as nails."
"You were awesome!" Alphonse shouted. "You went ZAP and the rock went CRUMBLE!"
"You did good," Blake said, raising a glass to Laxus.
Mavis floated above the table, looking at her notebook.
"Day One was a complete success!" she chirped. "Our morale is high. Our points are secure. But tomorrow... tomorrow we need to be careful. The other guilds will target us now since we are in first postion."
"Let them come," Blake said, looking at the fire in the hearth.
He picked up Celeste, who had fallen asleep in his lap amidst the noise.
"Fairy Tail is invincible," he whispered.
Outside, the lights of Crocus burned bright, but none burned brighter than the spirit of the guild that had risen from the ashes to reclaim its throne. The Grand Magic Games were far from over.